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Oral History Interview with Bert Nettles, July 13, 1974. Interview A-0015. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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JACK BASS:

Why did the Republicans not make a major challenge to Wallace this
year?

BERT NETTLES:

Who do we have? One of the Congressmen? Kind of important up in
Washington in keeping what toehold we have.

JACK BASS:

Was the reason because there were no candidates?

BERT NETTLES:

No candidates. We have a candidate who's running who is certainly . . .
there's been some problems there with him. He just jumped in himself.
The idea was not to field any candidate. Concentrate on the legislature.
The art of the possible. That's politics. It would take a million
dollars and a viable state wide candidate to have a real chance against
Wallace. And we don't have a million dollars and we don't have the
viable state wide candidate.

JACK BASS:

Wouldn't there have been a potential, though, for building a strong
coalition with blacks with an attractive candidate?

BERT NETTLES:

Yes, I think there would have been. But again, we're speaking of
hypotheticals there. Because the basic ingredient on a campaign like
that . . . and you can go and talk with Ruben Phillips in Mississippi
and he tried that. He had a pretty well funded campaign. This was
several years ago. He ran for governor on that kind of coalition. And
again, there was disappointment. The blacks . . . . Well, look at the
blacks! They're endorsing Wallace. They're pragmatists. The Tuskegee
mayor. Several others. Evers in Mississippi. You know,
they see Wallace as a winner. They want to win. And let the
future take care of the future. Winning's the name of the game, you see.
This is why Republicans . . . . I'm not arguing your thesis, because I
think the man who does get elected governor of Alabama as a Republican .
. . . And this will be done, sometime, in the '80s or maybe, hopefully,
before then. Is going to be elected with a sizeable amount of black
votes. But he's going to have to put together a winning coalition. He's
going to have to have a real solid base to run from. Where do you build
that base? In the legislature or in Congress. The problem about going to
Congress, you get Washington oriented and you have to have a pocket of
strength. But then you have the other areas of the state in which you're
not well known. But if you could build a solid base in the legislature
and get elected to a state wide office . . . . Like Chris Barne did in
Missouri. Then you've got a shot at it. But build to have a platform to
run on, a name, be able to attract some money. And the problem in
attracting money is that the traditional money sources in this state
come from your establishment. Your utilities, your big manufacturers,
road builders, other groups like that who are not all that interested in
seeing a change. And that's the most discouraging thing for the fellow
that doesn't have a private fortune for a successful career in state
wide politics. If he wants to have a moderate, progressive record or at
least a platform to run on.

JACK BASS:

One of the impressions I've sort of gotten here in that Republicans in
Alabama are sort of laying back waiting for Wallace . . . sort of
dormant, waiting for Wallace to leave the scene in so far as moving
state wide. Is that correct?

BERT NETTLES:

Well, we don't have the real dynamic type leadership that
we could possibly be doing a lot more with that.